The melodious sound of a violin echoed through the night.
Su Ning wasn't the only one awakened.
The lights in the surrounding mansions turned on one by one, and those who hadn't slept yet even sent servants out to see what was going on. The Wang family next door was one of them; the whole family had been heatedly discussing the events of today's banquet.
At one point, Mr. Wang was explaining the importance of oil, drawing gasps of amazement.
Regarding whether China actually had oil or not, which extended to that bet, they were divided into two factions. Well, Mrs. Wang and the two children formed one faction siding with Miss Su.
Mr. Wang formed his own solo faction.
After his lengthy speech, presenting facts and reasoning, talking from international affairs to current oil development, he argued that Su Ning's attitude was very inflammatory, but the possibility of actually having oil was very low.
"Yawn—"
Mrs. Wang yawned and waved her hand.
"I can't be bothered to listen to all this nonsense. Anyway, I just find that Yu Tai an eyesore. Is everything foreigners say always right? I stand with Miss Su; what she said was so uplifting!"
"I stand with Miss Su too."
Young Master Wang said with his hands on his hips.
As he spoke, the sweet taste of ice cream still lingered in his mouth. Whatever the adults thought of the banquet, the children had a blast, with all kinds of food and drink available.
Plus there were plenty of novelties.
"You guys."
Mr. Wang shook his head helplessly, looking at his daughter with a last glimmer of hope. His daughter had good grades in school and had studied these subjects...
The delicate and gentle Miss Wang apologetically avoided her father's gaze and whispered:
"I'm with Mom."
Why should the words of foreigners be the absolute truth? China was so big, and they hadn't surveyed every inch of it, yet they dared to conclude that China had no oil fields. Ultimately, they just looked down on China.
So she stood with Miss Su.
She kept these latter thoughts to herself, and Mr. Wang didn't think too much of it either, just chuckled and shook his head—it was just a little family debate.
The people who could truly make decisions...
Most of them were like him; they felt uncomfortable with Yu Tai's words, but in their hearts, they agreed... After all, for so many years, China had lagged behind foreign countries in every aspect!
"Alright, everyone is tired. Let's wash up and go to sleep."
Suddenly, the sound of a violin drifted over.
"Who is it?"
"Disturbing the peace in the middle of the night."
"Someone is playing the violin. Oh my god, is this a courtship? It's simply too romantic."
Miss Wang recognized the voice; it belonged to a "friend" from her social circle, similar in age and family background, the kind of friend parents would compare her to.
As far as she knew.
This friend loved romantic things. When the servants returned from scouting, they reported that the wall of the mansion next door was lined with bright red roses, and someone was playing the violin amidst the flowers... a very classic courtship scene.
"Whose family is this? They really went all out. Let's go out and take a look too."
"Let's go, let's go."
Mrs. Wang took the lead.
She didn't forget to educate her daughter:
"I know you young girls are easily moved by this, thinking it's romantic and true love. But none of this puts food on the table. When you're truly together, there won't be any roses or violins. Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea are what you need to consider."
"I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice..."
Pfft.
Miss Wang laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Mrs. Wang glared at her daughter and said grumpily:
"Young men who pull these stunts do so because they lack other qualifications and have no hope of proposing properly. That's why they use these crooked methods to bewitch girls. I'm taking you to see this now so you'll remember it and keep your wits about you if you encounter it in the future."
"I know."
Miss Wang nodded obediently, then asked:
"This person is here for Miss Su. She wouldn't be fooled, right?"
"Who knows..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Wang turned her head and happened to see the person playing the violin. The bright moonlight shone on his face, outlining his deep facial features, and those emerald eyes looked just like the treasured jade bracelet in her dressing table.
By now, quite a few people had come out to watch the spectacle.
The more reserved ones.
Like the Wang family, watched from their homes, while others who lived further away and didn't care about appearances came out directly to gather around.
Being stared at by so many people.
The man turned a deaf ear, focusing all his attention on playing the violin.
Occasionally, he would look up at the window.
Those emerald eyes seemed to hide endless affection and a thousand hopes. He didn't say a word, but the crowd had already imagined countless tales of passionate love...
Even an experienced veteran like Mrs. Wang couldn't say a bad word about him.
She subconsciously turned back to look at her daughter.
Seeing that although she was curious, she showed no expression of infatuation, Mrs. Wang breathed a sigh of relief. Then she thought, Miss Su was undoubtedly capable, but she was also a young girl who grew up with her father and had no female elders to teach her about these things.
Could she really be moved?
At this moment.
A gasp rippled through the crowd—
A silhouette appeared by the window.
Miss Su had come out!
…………
Hearing the noise, Antonio felt a surge of joy. He didn't rush to look up; instead, he gently shook his wrist to draw out a long note and perfectly lifted the side of his face... Many of his female friends had told him that he looked best from this angle.
The silhouette indeed moved.
Smiling, he performed a gentlemanly bow.
"I apologize for the presumptuous intrusion, but my feelings are truly uncontrollable. Tagore said that God finds Himself in the lowest among things. When I look up at your window, I am certain that you are the deity in my heart."
"I beg you to open the window and bestow your favor upon me, your humblest believer."
A small gasp rippled through the crowd.
It was too romantic.
Most of the people living here had received advanced education for the era. Although some called this unconventional display of affection an offense to public morals, the overall level of acceptance was quite high.
Moreover, it looked like this man was a foreigner.
That made it even less of an issue.
Miss Su had also grown up abroad; this man might even be an old acquaintance of hers!
However, the silhouette reflected in the window still made no move to open it.
The crowd whispered among themselves.
"What's going on?"
"What else could it be? The man is willing, but the lady is not. Still, Miss Su is being a bit too cold and ruthless. He's showing his true heart; the least she could do is come out and politely decline."
Just as those words were spoken.
The doors of the Su family mansion were pushed open, and a large group of men in black poured out. Their running pace was uniform, and their expressions were deadly serious, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Then—
They mercilessly trampled on the delicate roses and swiftly tackled Antonio to the ground. "Wh-what are you doing?" he cried out in panic. In the corner, a few of his attendants also rushed forward to try and save their master.
Without exception, they were all subdued.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Lin Sen walked out, looked around, and said with a smile, "I apologize for disturbing everyone. We will hand this scoundrel over to the police station to be locked up immediately. This kind of thing will not happen again."
Ah?
The crowd looked on in stunned disbelief.
"I am no scoundrel." Antonio stubbornly raised his head and looked straight at Lin Sen. "I truly adore Miss Su. Even if you lock me up in the police station, it's useless. One day, I will touch Miss Su's heart."
"You can lock up my body, but you cannot lock up my heart!"
These words fell upon their ears.
Lin Sen did not know why, but it felt incredibly familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Unable to recall where, he decided to just let it go. He could not be bothered to waste any more breath on the man, so he directly ordered his men to gag him and haul him off to the police station.
What a pity. If only they were in Peiping.
"I will definitely be back!"
In the final moment before his mouth was stuffed with a gag, Antonio twisted his head toward the window and shouted those words.
Such relentless persistence, such deep infatuation.
It genuinely moved quite a few of the bystanders.
One after another, they raised their heads to look at the silhouette by the window, only to realize...
Where was the person?
How did they just disappear?
